Tom McGill says he’s delighted to have received his first call-up into a Canada squad he has described as the ‘team of a generation’.
John Herdman’s team qualified for the Qatar World Cup last year, the first from Canada to reach the finals since 1986.
“My phone blew up with messages from friends and family when I heard on Thursday,” McGill, 22, said. “It’s a huge honour, it’s something that I have wanted to achieve for a long time. The next goal is to get in the squad and stay in there, but to start I am very happy.
“This team has achieved so much by getting to the World Cup and how well they did in the qualifiers. It’s the team of a generation considering Canada’s past record.
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“It’s a cool feeling when you see your name on the team-sheet alongside some big names. I am keeping my level high in training and I need to match that when I join up with the team.
“Every goalkeeper wants to play and that’s the next step. But whatever I am doing I will be giving 100% and supporting the rest of the goalies in the group.
“I know that I am coming in as the new kid. I am not going there as a number one, I just want to be regularly involved with the squad and to fight for a place in the team.”
Ontario-born, McGill moved to England from Canada at a young age and says one of the best parts of his call-up is getting to see family.
“Having my family at the games, regardless of whether or not I am playing, is going to be the highlight because I see them so little. I go over for the summer but they have commitments too so trying to find a gap when we’re all able to see each other is tough.”
Canada are playing CONCACAF Nations League qualifiers against Curacao away on 26 March and Honduras in Toronto three days later.